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An Intro to Outdoor Jackets

Anyone who spends time outside has a favorite jacket—it’s a staple in the kit of every hiker, climber, skier, snowboarder, cyclist, or mountaineer. But the one-jacket-for-everything days are long gone. To get you started on the path to understanding your jacket options, we outlined the five most basic styles.

For the worst weather conditions imaginable, you need the reliable protection of Technical Shell. The best Technical Shells often feature waterproof/breathable laminates, watertight zippers, and high denier face fabrics.

Frozen chairlifts, day-long submersion in thigh deep pow (we hope), slushy boot packs, and brutal arctic winds are just a few scenarios your pants experience on a regular day at the outdoor office. So when choosing a new pair of pants, it’s worth taking some time researching the various fabrics, features, and styles that will be most applicable to your type of winter recreation.

An Intro to Outdoor Jackets

Anyone who spends time outside has a favorite jacket—it’s a staple in the kit of every hiker, climber, skier, snowboarder, cyclist, or mountaineer. But the one-jacket-for-everything days are long gone. To get you started on the path to understanding your jacket options, we outlined the five most basic styles.

How to Choose Ski & Snowboard Pants

Frozen chairlifts, day-long submersion in thigh deep pow (we hope), slushy boot packs, and brutal arctic winds are just a few scenarios your pants experience on a regular day at the outdoor office. So when choosing a new pair of pants, it’s worth taking some time researching the various fabrics, features, and styles that will be most applicable to your type of winter recreation.

Winter Layering

How To Care for Your Down Jacket

Your puffy spares you the shivers on long chairlift rides, it offers a cozy embrace when you’re belaying a long pitch, and it lets you enjoy evening stargazing on alpine backpacking trips. And what do you do for it in return? Cram it into a stuff sack.

Technical Shells Explained

For the worst weather conditions imaginable, you need the reliable protection of Technical Shell. The best Technical Shells often feature waterproof/breathable laminates, watertight zippers, and high denier face fabrics.

Originally, snowshoeing provided means for me to start my quest of summiting the 48 4,000-footers in the White Mountains of New Hampshire during the winter. Now that I reside in Utah, exploring the Wasatch-Uinta-Cache National Forest is far easier and more fun thanks to my trusty snowshoes. If you’ve always wanted to get out into the outdoors in the middle of winter, a pair of snowshoes may be your ticket to getting away from it all. Here’s a guide for choosing the snowshoes that are right for you. Working on the same general principle as skis, snowshoes spread your weight [...]

I recently attended the Western Winter Sports Rep Association ski demo at Snowbasin Resort in Huntsville, Utah. A two-day ski gear extravaganza, the WWSRA demo was a chance to investigate the hottest gear for women that will hit shelves in the early autumn of 2015. Here are some of my initial impressions about the women’s skis that stood out on the racks; look for these skis to launch on Backcountry in August and September of 2015! To put my reviews in context, I am 5’3” and weigh 120 lbs (on a good day). I am an expert skier who likes [...]

At first glance, doing yoga on a stand-up paddleboard might seem a bit gimmicky. But once you get over the novelty, you realize that the paddleboard adds a new and demanding fitness dimension to even the simplest of yoga positions. SUP yoga requires proper alignment and balance, or you end up in the water. This allows beginner yogis to learn proper alignment from the start, and it’s a refinement tool for more experienced yoga practitioners. You get quick feedback on whether or not your form is as good as you think it is. Apart from the fitness benefits, it’s a [...]

Three weeks before I was due to go to Antarctica for my third trip to ski-guide for Ice Axe Expeditions last fall, my plans fell through thanks to last-minute guest changes. I was still itching to go somewhere, so I turned my focus to a new project. The goals were to find an adventure, check out new mountains, do some ski reconnaissance, and embrace and enjoy a new culture. My partner, Jackson Hole Ski Patroller Pete Linn, and I honed in on Peru, and then quickly found the perfect challenge. National Geographic lists the Salkantay Trail (ST) as one of [...]

You don’t know how it happened, but it did, and now you have to deal with it. You met someone, you fell for them, and now you want to spend all(ish) of your life with them. But, here’s the thing: they don’t ski, and even worse, they want to learn. At this point, you have two options (three if you count changing your name and moving out of state): you either hook them up with lessons, or you teach them yourself. If you don’t have enough cash for an instructor, or you don’t trust one of your friends to teach [...]

When it comes to air travel with ski or snowboard gear, getting there is not half the fun. Usually, flying entails lugging two extremely heavy bags around, paying extra baggage fees, eating overpriced airport food and drinking overpriced beers, all the while wondering if the bags are going to your same destination, or a vacation of their own. As frustrating as air travel can be, however, there are plenty of ways to make your trip less painful. While none of these tips will guarantee that your bags will make it nor that a hottie will be seated next to you, [...]

By pushing themselves progressively farther and faster, runners of all levels can reach performances they never dreamed possible. – The Competitive Runner’s Handbook If you are like me, I ran my first marathon with the general goal of finishing. I had done my training guided by a 12-week, easy-to-follow guide that had me running unfocused miles. At the time this simple regimen was OK because I wanted so badly to complete the 26.2 mile distance, no matter how long it took. On race day I ran the entire marathon stride for stride with my husband and had a huge smile [...]

The Outdoor Retailer trade show is one of the most important events in our business, where our buyers meet with manufacturers and decide what we will be offering on Backcountry.com in the coming year. For the dedicated gear freak who can’t wait to see the latest and greatest outdoor gear, it’s four days of heaven. Our Community Manger, Lexi Dowdall, took a few laps of the massive show floor of Winter OR 2015, and reported back on some of the highlights of what she saw. Photos by Re Wikstrom Arc’teryx Lithic Glove A close-up look at the 333D moto-grade fabric [...]

Jackson Hole was one of the first resorts in the United States to have an “open gates” policy, and the terrain around it serves up some of the best lift-serviced backcountry in the country. From puckering steeps to playful pillows, there’s just about every sort of adventure a rider could ask for, just a short traverse and bootpack from the tram. When the conditions are right, all that’s standing between riders and heli-quality terrain is an access gate. Easy access notwithstanding, though, Jackson Hole’s backcountry is the real deal, and skiers and riders venturing out should be equipped as if [...]

“Factory” might be a bit of an overstatement. Located a few blocks from Park City’s historic Main Street, the Soul Poles shop is more like a glorified garage that shares a wall with the local Mexican bakery. But toiling in a garage is where most great American innovators got their start, so they’re in good company. Photos by Re Wikstrom At Backcountry we have a soft spot for the little guys who are working to bring sustainability and homegrown craftsmanship back to the industry. So when Lexi Dowdall, our community manager, needed to score a new pair of poles to [...]

We’ve all perfected the art of bailing in daily life. It’s as easy as pulling out your smart phone and punching out a vague text message to the friend you’ve had longstanding plans with. “Hey, sorry, but I gotta take a rain check on tomorrow. Got some last-minute stuff.” Maybe work is a legitimate scapegoat. Maybe it’s a result of the contagious FOMO syndrome (Fear Of Missing Out), where Plan A is put on hold because a better Plan B came along. But maybe “better” is really just a code word for sitting at home and avoiding your friends because [...]

Backcountry.com athlete and pro snowboarder Forrest Shearer spends a lot of time in the backcountry on his splitboard. We asked him to give us the rundown on what you need to get into splitboarding: Each year, it seems like more and more people are skipping the lift lines and tracked-out runs to ride in the backcountry. There’s endless terrain out there–you just have to use you own two feet to get there. The scenery is amazing, the snow is usually great, and the freedom to roam the mountains on splitboard can make for a truly wild adventure. Here’s is a [...]

Standing at the top of a perfect Wasatch powder run, Bruce Tremper of the Utah Avalanche Forecast Center and I only lacked one thing: visibility. We had the perfect slope, perfect snow, good stability and the place all to ourselves … if only we could see it. After I grumbled about it for a few minutes while Bruce was fine-tuning the buckles on his boots, he said “Why don’t you take this first and I’ll tell you the secret for flat light at the bottom.” Pushing off, I channeled my inner mantra to “Use the Force” and fumbled my way [...]

For runners, spring is race season; for the majority of those living in the northern hemisphere, that means that the heart of the training takes place in the middle of winter. While it may be tempting to run outdoors on a beautiful day after fresh snow has fallen, it’s not always a great idea to get in your speed or strength work on the icy roads. I usually find a nice warm and safe treadmill to complete the key workouts that’ll help me get closer to my goals. Following is some advice about getting the most out of running on [...]

Ski touring, or ‘earning your turns,’ as it’s affectionately called, has never been more popular. Removing the restriction of only being able to ski lift-served runs opens up new terrain, provides access to untracked powder, enables you to skip lift lines and resort crowds, and of course, has you feeling the burn of tired legs like never before. While in theory any ski can be used for alpine touring, the recent increase in the sport’s popularity has led to the development of touring-specific ski models that typically feature lighter-weight constructions than their pure downhill counterparts. You’ll also find touring-specific shapes [...]

Skiing and riding in the backcountry is a bit like driving on the freeway: when you know the rules and have some skills and experience, it has some risk, but it tends to work out OK. When you lack those ingredients, it’s confusing, embarrassing, and dangerous at best, and nobody wants to ride with you. When you understand how to match your decisions to the current conditions, you can get out and safely have a great time on any day, regardless of the conditions. So how do you learn to make good decisions in the backcountry? In Utah, along with [...]

At Backcountry we’re serious about down jackets. Most of us live in them for six months of the year, and at peak season we have over 400 styles to choose from on our site. To make sure we’re pointing you towards the down jacket that’s best suited to your needs, we talk to designers and manufacturers, pore over catalogs and technical specifications, and we put them to the test every time we head to the mountains or commute to the office on a chilly day. Point being, we work hard to make sure we’re getting it right. But despite our [...]

Backcountry.com athletes are getting a lot of love on the awards circuit, most recently at Powder Magazine’s 15th annual awards on December 5 in Salt Lake City. As you can see in the clips below, the Backcountry Goat is traveling in some pretty high-flying circles. Teton Gravity Research’s Almost Ablaze pulled down top honors as “Movie of the Year.” This film, “a global odyssey combining state-of-the-art cinematography and the most progressive riding on the planet,” features a number of Backcountry athletes who also received individual recognition nod from the jury. The most attention, though, (and a grip of awards) has been [...]

The right pair of boots often make the difference between an awesome day on the mountain and an afternoon spent whimpering in the lodge. With the huge amount of available options, knowing what features you want and how your boots should fit can be a big help in narrowing down your choices. Lacing Options The various lacing systems are the most visually obvious way in which snowboard boots differ, and each has their pros and cons. Gear nerds on snowboard forums will argue at length about which one is best, but the truth is there are excellent options available no [...]

Uncertain footing in snow and ice can discourage the dedicated endurance athlete, even a member of the Salomon-Backcountry running team like myself, from running during the winter. When it gets ugly underfoot, it’s all too easy to just give and go to the gym and get on the treadmill. But if you’re looking to get your fix of fresh air and sunshine, along with a great workout, snowshoe running might be the ticket. Snowshoe running is a fast-growing sport in the US, offering a safe, low-impact alternative to running on trails, giving you a new way to build strength and [...]

Ski touring, AT skiing, ski mountaineering, randonee … whatever you call it, getting into the backcountry on skis is becoming more and more popular. The idea of escaping into nature and away from the crowds—and enjoying untouched snow—may sound really good, but where do you start? There are two essential components, education and gear. We’ll tackle the equipment question in this article; you can learn how to get an education in backcountry safety here. But before you consider what equipment you’ll want to acquire, think about where you’ll be skiing, how you plan on skiing, and the type of terrain [...]

You were never going to be that parent—the one with the kid pitching a fit on the bunny hill, sniveling about the cold and whining to be taken home. Yours may be one of those who take to the snow like a baby polar bear, but even the hardiest kid can have a rough day. Whether you’re headed to after-school lessons, a weekend getaway, or a family vacation, here are some tips for maximizing the fun and minimizing the pain of a day on the slopes with very young skiers. Tip #1: Keep ‘em warm … but don’t immobilize them. [...]

In the early ’90s, when dinosaurs had only recently been supplanted by mammals and plaid shirts were worn layered on top of each other, terrain parks were in their infancy. They were an attempt to welcome snowboarding to the resorts and to corral (unsuccessfully) the skate-inspired tricks that boarders favored and that upset the status quo. Initially, skiers were not allowed in the parks, but with youth being youth, that restriction became more of a temptation than any marketing ploy could ever hope to achieve. Skiers began “poaching” the parks, and not long after, the first production twintip ski (the [...]

The sound is unmistakable. A loud rumble accompanied by the sensation of having the rug pulled out from under you. In seconds you’re rushing downslope, tumbling, caught in a washing machine of snow, rock, and wood. The sky fades in and out and you gasp for air as you’re force-fed thick, suffocating snow. Moving at 60 miles an hour, you’re helpless to stop the cascade. You reach for the small handle located on your shoulder, and a sudden “whoosh” fills your ears. Large sacs of air deploy around you and you start to rise to the surface. After a minute, [...]